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Monday November 19, 2012

As a sports person, the drive to improve your athletic
performance and fitness levels will be of utmost importance to
you.

Motivational factors such as reaching personal goals, having a
desire to win and possibly the compelling financial rewards of
success are a constant provocation for you to train even harder and
for longer‮.

However, the stresses and strains of general life demands,
strenuous training, and insufficient rest can have a negative
influence on both your athletic performance and your health which
may result in recurrent infections such as troublesome coughs and
colds.

The link between sport and illness

Research has shown that during intense training or after
competition people tend to be more susceptible to common maladies
such as coughs and colds. It is also known that nutrition plays a
major role in your individual risk of developing infections. That's
why a healthy balanced diet with adequate micronutrients (minerals
and vitamins) can help to keep you 'infection-free' by
maintaining your immune system function and keeping your white
blood cells fighting fit.

On the other hand, poor eating patterns perhaps caused by
dieting or trying to make a low body weight for competition
can lead to trying to nutritional deficiency which in some
cases can lead to a suppression of the immune system and
illness.

Training increases the body's requirement for most nutrients. In
many cases, these increased needs are met by the increase in food
consumed, but it is still advisable for active people take a
vitamin/mineral supplement to counteract any nutrient imbalances
that may occur.

The science

An extensive study by sport scientists in South Africa has
focused on the suppressive effect of strenuous exercise on
peoples' immune systems, as well as looking at what vitamins and
minerals would help sports people combat this issue.

In the first phase of the experiment, the scientists gave a
group of runners and triathletes a daily multivitamin and mineral
supplement for six weeks. The scientists found that the daily
multi-vitamin and mineral supplement had improved the killing
capacity of white blood cells. In the second phase of the
experiment, the same group of runners and triathletes were asked to
take a high dose of antioxidants (vitamin C, vitamin E and
Beta-carotene) for just seven days prior to a strenuous 2-hour
run (designed to suppress their immune system function).

The function of a family of white blood cells called neutrophils
which provide the first line of defence against disease-causing
bugs by attacking and killing these invaders when they enter the
body. Once again, the killing capacity of the neutrophils was
found to have increased following the supplementation compared to a
placebo.

Supplement your health

Since dietary supplements of vitamins and minerals (in the
recommended dose) are not detrimental to health and nor are they
classed as a performance enhancing drug, even elite athletes can
supplement their diets with them.

It was found that the neutrophil function of those athletes that
took the placebo actually decreased. The results from this study
point to the use of combined daily multivitamin, mineral and
antioxidant supplements to help maintain the immune system and
general health of sporty, active people.

However, it is strongly recommended that you take supplements
within the recommended daily intake (RDA) limits for physically
active individuals and only those that are supported by scientific
evidence.

Megadosing is not recommended. In fact, very high intakes of
some vitamins and minerals can actually cause
immunosuppression.

Furthermore, ensure that your nutritional supplements are bought
from a reputable supplier who will provide you with a certificate
of purity for your batch of supplements to show that they are free
from steroid and stimulant contaminants.